Upon arriving home, it was instantly obvious that our dog Champ had gotten worse over the past 24 hours while I was away in the hospital with Sam. His foot that held his cancerous tumor had begun to ooze and bleed even more, he was licking it constantly, his leg and foot were now swollen, and he was favoring his bad leg. Jere and I made the tough decision that it was indeed time. We sat the boys down and had a gentle talk with them about Champ. Many tears were shed by all. He was so gentle with our boys when they were babies and they would constantly sit on him, pull on him, get right up in his face and use him as a step stool and he never seemed to mind a bit. It is hard to say good-bye.
Champ was spoiled Wednesday night with lots of love, hugs and attention. Jere cooked him a nice, juicy steak on the grill and Sam fed him an entire 1/2 pound of turkey from the deli. (Oops! A couple pieces of turkey as a treat quickly turned into the entire bag!) What a feast!
Thursday morning, after a little walk out in front of our house, (his foot was far too swollen and he was too uncomfortable for anything more) it was time to say good-bye. Jere loaded him up in the car and then they were gone. Such a sad, sad day.
Good-bye Champ. Thank you for all the years of unconditional love. You have been a member of our family for 12 1/2 years and you will be greatly missed.
5 comments